- April 28, 2024
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In a few days, probably within hours of this issue hitting the driveways, I will start getting letters to the editor saying we shouldn’t have done endorsements. “Let us think for ourselves!” and “What makes you so high and mighty as to tell me how to vote?”
But, we trust that most people will understand what we’re attempting to do.
No matter how many times you read the Elections Guide or go to forums, it’s always helpful to get another opinion. And if you have another conversation with your neighbor about the Aug. 14 primary as a result of these endorsements, we have done our job. We want people to be talking about this because it might make them more likely to vote.
In addition, we feel it’s our responsibility to endorse. We care about this community. We want the best people to be elected. And we have done our homework, so we want to share it with you.
Members of our staff attend the public meetings, and we analyze what elected officials say each week. We conduct interviews with them on a regular basis, both formally and informally.
This summer, we created the Elections Guide, which consisted of interviews with 39 candidates. Then, we formed an ad hoc editorial board, analyzed the candidates, independently scored them using a ratings system and then met and debated for many hours as to which candidates we should endorse as a newspaper. We invite you to read Pages 8-9 to see what we came up with.
Unfortunately, we won’t be publishing any letters to the editor about specific candidates because they amount to being advertisements. We will allow candidate-specific comments on our website in response to the endorsements, however. And we will continue to conduct polls and ask for your opinions on our Facebook page, so please join us there for more debate.
To reiterate: We are not telling anyone how to vote. We are only telling you whom we support. Take it or leave it. And don’t forget to vote!
Don we now our uniforms
It’s been awhile since we talked uniforms. But at least some parents haven’t forgotten. Here’s what Alicha Sweeney Willis said on our Facebook page recently:
“I know so many people are against the uniform policy this year, but I just wanted to let everybody know that, thanks to Old Navy and their sale, I just got five polos and five pairs of uniform shorts for $65 for each child. Voila! All done shopping for clothes. Considering jeans are going to be allowed and it's not cold until November, those will wait. That was easy!”
Alicha, if you can find a way to get your kids to put their clothes into the hamper, rather than wadded up in the corner, please let me know.
